John Kirk
~Miller of Cossington Mill and Boat Builder
&
Ann Beale
~ of Broughton Astley
JOHN KIRK born c1770 in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire &
ANN BEALE born 1765 in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire
In the year 1770 George lll is the current monarch. Captain Cook and his crew are setting sail on their ship HMS Endeavour, in April they become the first europeans to encounter the coastline of Australia and in June they discover the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs aground. On the 5th March five Americans were killed by British troops in an event that would help start the American Revolutionary War, labeled the Boston Massacre.
John was born around January 1770 in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, his parents being William Kirk & Mary Doughty. They baptised him on the 25th January 1770 at St Peters Church, Mountsorrel.
He later moved to Cossington where he worked as a Miller. You can see a photo of Cossington Mill above taken by Tom Bassett. Cossington Mill, Weir and Lock is one mile west of the village. Records show that the former corn mill has been there since 1284 although a mill has been at Cossington even longer than that.The Cossington Mill group of properties comprises of the Mill House, Mill Barn and Cossington Mill itself. He possibly inherited the water mill when his father William died, being the eldest son when the will was made he inherited alot of his father's estate & his bakery business in Mountsorrel.
John's father William died in early 1794 but shortly before his death he had made his last will & testament -
John's Father William's Will (Summary Below) ~
He also leaves all household goods & furniture, stock, plate, money, securities for money and the money thereby secured, book depts, goods, cattle, chattels, personal estates & effects, the whole of the baking business, the whole of his wind & water mills & all the utensils thereto belonging to my eldest son John Kirk.
He bequeathed £20 a year to his dear wife Mary Kirk for life, daughters Mary Adderly & Ann received £50. Also the four other children, Elizabeth, Richard, Thomas and Catherine all were to receive £21 on reaching 21. The executors of the will would be his wife Mary Kirk & son John.
The codicil added that Son John Kirk have full power & authority to sell the croft situated on the north east side of the old Soar in parish of Barrow Upon Soar now in the tenure of John Lewin and also 3 tenements in the north end of Mountsorrel now in the tenure of Hugh Shelton & William Fletcher. Also if Mary was to marry again John did not have to pay her the £20 per year but she would receive a percentage of any profit instead.
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So at the age of 24 John was now very wealthy, owning a bakery business, property and mills. It would appear from the codicil added to the will that John intended to sell off at least some of the property. On his marriage certificate he has already taken on the role of the Miller at Cossington. He was married to Ann Beale on the 29th December 1796 at Broughton Astley, this is where Ann was from, John and Ann are both aged 26 at the time. The marriage licence was applied for on the 24th December and was witnessed by John Kirk and John's Uncle, John Barfoot Eames. John Barfoot Eames appears on quite a few official family documents as a witness, executor etc, so was obviously well thought of, he had married John's aunt Anne Kirk in 1794. It may be that he just had the money to cover any forfeit in the contract.
The marriage bond/licence was sworn by two sufficient witnesses, one would usually be the groom and the other, a father or a friend. This wasn't to be taken lightly as they effectively pledged to forfeit a large sum of money ranging from £40 to £200, if there was any consanguinity (a relationship within the prohibited degrees) between the parties or any pre-contract to another person. The large sum of money to be forfeit was intended to underline the serious nature of the oath. The names you see on the Marriage Licence sometimes did not include the parents possibly because one or both parties to be married faced family opposition to their marriage or they may be just simply of full age.
John and Ann had four children altogether. William, the eldest son, was born in 1797, when he grew older he worked as a Miller alongside his father producing flour , becoming an official partner in Kirk and Son in 1815, he lived at Cossington Mill until his death in 1835. Mary Ann Kirk, their first daughter, born in December 1798. John Kirk, my x5 grandfather, was born in January 1801. The last child was the fantastically named Zaccheus Ducket Kirk, born in 1803. They were all baptised at Cossington parish church. John went on to be a boatwright at Mountsorrel boat yard and Zaccheus, a coal merchant in the family firm.
It looks like John(senior) and his son William were astute when it came to dealing with their property. I have found other documents that show a John Vincent buying property in the parish of Broughton Astley from John Kirk (of Cossington Mill) for £191/5/-d on the 8th October 1818. It consisted of a three-quarter share in a messuage(a dwelling house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use), close of two acres and one other cottage. John had aquired the property in 1807, a Robert Carver acted as a trustee at the time.
On the 7th, the previous day, John Vincent had obtained a lease for a year from John Kirk and his son William Kirk for a 1/4 share in two cottages and two acres of land. It was a standard lease agreement for a year at a rent of a peppercorn. (a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small payment, a nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract). This kind of deal where the lease / tenancy of non-tenanted property by its owner followed by a release of the landlord's interest in the property is known as a sale by lease and release, it was used as a way of avoiding paying tax on the transfer of the property. These documents are now in my possession.
Ann, John's wife, died on the 1st Jul 1803 and is buried at Cossington. John remarried on the 21st March 1805 to Elizabeth Hall at Market Harborough. The marriage lasted just 6 years, unfortunately Elizabeth also died on the 29th August 1811, she too is buried at Cossington. They did have one daughter, Eliza, born in the month of May in 1811, so it's quite likely that Elizabeth died of complications from the birth.
It appears that at some point in the early 1800's John moves into the business of boat building. It must be at this time that the Kirk boat building company is setup at the Mountsorrel boat yard and indeed flourishes for the next 60 years.
John lived on until the 21st January 1841, aged 71. He is buried alongside his beloved first wife Ann at Cossington. At this time his occupation is noted as Boat Builder. Their grave stone is probably one of the most ornate i have ever seen, you can view it if you wish in the associated images link at the bottom of the page.
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JOHN KIRK born c1770 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Baptism : John Kirk 25 Jan 1770 Mountsorrel
Father - William Mother - Mary
Marriage Licence - 24 Dec 1796
Agreement witnesses John Kirk & John Barfoot Eames
to the Marriage to Ann Beale
NB. She was born 1765 Broughton Astley, Leics
Marriage1: 29 December 1796. John Kirk (Age 26) .
to Ann Beale (Age 26) .
at Broughton Astley (By Licence)
John's Residence at Mountsorrel.
Occupation - Miller
Signed by John Kirk and Ann Beale.
Presence of Alice Beale, Thomas Greaves - Rector,
John B Eames.
Ann Kirk (nee Beale) dies 01 July 1803. Aged 37.
Buried at Cossington. 03 July 1803.
Marriage2: 21 March 1805. John Kirk
to Elizabeth Hall
at Market Harborough (By Licence)
John's Residence at Cossington
Occupation - Miller
Elizabeth Kirk (nee Hall) - Johns 2nd wife dies 29 Aug 1811.
Buried 1st Sep 1811.
NB. she was born c1784 Market Harborough
John Kirk Died 21st Jan 1841. Age 71.
Registration District : Barrow Upon Soar
Sub-District : Barrow on Soar.
Where : Barrow on Soar.
Occupation : Boat Builder.
Cause : Old Age.
Informant : Samuel Wright,
Surgeon in attendance Mountsorrel
Registered : 26th January 1841
Buried at All Saints parish church, Cossington
Burial 27 January 1841
Gravestone states he departed on - January 21st 1841, aged 72
Children of JOHN KIRK and ANN BEALE are:
i. WILLIAM KIRK
bap 1 Nov 1797 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Ann Heap 29 Mar 1826 Cossington, Leicestershire
d 12 Apr 1835 , bur 17 Apr 1835 Cossington. Obode-Cossington Mill
will - 5th/6th April 1835 {Split between wife Ann & children - William, John, Ann, Helen}
ii. MARY ANN KIRK
bap 26 Dec 1798 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Willliam Pulford 05 Feb 1824 Cossington, Leicestershire
bur 9 Dec 1831 Cossington Obode-Market Harborough
iii. JOHN KIRK
bap 23 Jan 1801 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Mary Ann Cooper 2 Jun 1825 Brinklow, Warwickshire
d 14-16 Mar 1842 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
bur 19 Mar 1842 Cossington, Leicestershire
will - 21 Feb 1842
iv. ZACCHEUS DUCKET KIRK
bap 03 Jul 1803 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Ann Luck 23 Oct 1886 All Saints, Loughborough
d 23 Feb 1851 Mountsorrel. Bur Cossington, Leicestershire
will - 12 Feb 1848 *Ann Kirk (née Luck) mar2 to William Wale. 4 May 1853, Mountsorrel Chapel
Children of JOHN KIRK and ELIZABETH HALL are:
i. ELIZA KIRK
bap 5 May 1811 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Rev Edward Hall 15 May 1834, by Licence Mountsorrel, Leicestershire.
d Eliza Hall 28 Nov 1880, Litchfield. 69 yrs. Infomant - Emily Hall, daughter, 25 Jun 1881.
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Graves found at Cossington -
Elizabeth second Wife of John Kirk.
died August 29th 1811
in the 27th year of her life.
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Here rest the remains of
John Kirk
He departed this life
January 21st 1841
Aged 72
-
Ann the wife of
John Kirk
she departed this life the
1st of July 1803
Aged 37 Years
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affectionate remembrance
Zaccheus Ducket Kirk
Late of Mountsorrel
who departed this life
February 23rd 1851
in the 47th year
of his life
----------
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ANN BEALE born 1765 Broughton Astley, Leicestershire
Baptism : 30 Dec 1765 Broughton Astley, Leicestershire
Ann of David & Ann Beale
Marriage Licence - 24 Dec 1796
Agreement witnesses John Kirk & John Barfoot Eames
to the Marriage to Ann Beale
Marriage: 29 December 1796. John Kirk (Age 26) .
to Ann Beale (Age 26) .
at Broughton Astley (By Licence)
John's Residence at Mountsorrel.
Occupation - Miller
Signed by John Kirk and Ann Beale.
Presence of Alice Beale, Thomas Greaves - Rector,
John B Eames.
Ann Kirk (nee Beale) died 01 July 1803. Aged 37.
Buried at Cossington. 03 July 1803.
Mother Anne makes her will in August of 1803.
Children of JOHN KIRK and ANN BEALE are:
i. WILLIAM KIRK
bap 1 Nov 1797 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Ann Heap 29 Mar 1826 Cossington, Leicestershire
d 12 Apr 1835 , bur 17 Apr 1835 Cossington. Obode-Cossington Mill
will - 5th/6th April 1835 {Split between wife Ann & children - William, John, Ann, Helen}
ii. MARY ANN KIRK
bap 26 Dec 1798 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Willliam Pulford 05 Feb 1824 Cossington, Leicestershire
bur 9 Dec 1831 Cossington Obode-Market Harborough
iii. JOHN KIRK
bap 23 Jan 1801 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Mary Ann Cooper 2 Jun 1825 Brinklow, Warwickshire
d 14-16 Mar 1842 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
bur 19 Mar 1842 Cossington, Leicestershire
will - 21 Feb 1842
iv. ZACCHEUS DUCKET KIRK
bap 03 Jul 1803 Cossington, Leicestershire
mar Ann Luck 23 Oct 1886 All Saints, Loughborough
d 23 Feb 1851 Mountsorrel. Bur Cossington, Leicestershire
will - 12 Feb 1848 *Ann Kirk (née Luck) mar2 to William Wale. 4 May 1853, Mountsorrel Chapel
Go to associated images - John Kirk (1770) & Ann Beale (1765)
Go to John's Father - William Kirk (1741)
Go to John & Ann's Son - John Kirk (1801)
Go back to the Kirk Family Tree Page